i am currently a first semester student at spartan in st.lucia......i hear that we need a visa to do rotations is the USA......can someone please tell me what i need to do right away in order to receive this visa......i heard something about a B1 visa....what are the requirements....i also heard that in order to receive this visa u need a letter stating your intensions or something......does this have to be written by the school in my case spartan?.......any information would be much appreciated.....thank u.

From what I hear, this isn't a difficult process- just a bit of paperwork and you should be fine as a Canadian citizen temporarily visiting US for education purposes. It can be time consuming, so yes, it would be a good idea to get on this early.

Student visa: F-1
http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/...fits/index.htm
(I'm almost sure that Caribbean schools including Spartan are not approved by BCIS and thus you won't be able to obtain I-17 form for F-1 visa)

Business visa: B-1
http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/...usPleasure.htm
(I believe this is the route Canadians like other IMGs will have to go through for clinicals in US)

Hope this helps, it's important for you to go by information on US immigration website or consult one of their officers for correct and reliable application.

Thank you very much for your reply.......now do i need to get a letter from my school or something stating that i am a student.....what sort of things do i need to do.....i went to the link that you gave me but i couldnt figure out exactly what i need to do in order to receive this visa.....if it is possible can any canadian students who graduated from a caribbean medical school and did their rotations in the USA help me with this question and just let me know exactly what process i need to take at what time.......i would really really appreciate the help.....thank u

Yes, u should try and obtain a letter from your school stating that you are a current student in good standing with them. Once u get to the border, the customs officer will ask u some questions and u can show them the letter. If everything is in order, they'll issue u a B-1 visa for a small fee. Now personally, I did all my rotations in the US without any sort of visa (and I'm a Canadian citizen also). I was flying back and forth from the US to Alberta every few months, so they said it was not necessary for me to have a visa. I'm not sure about now though since they've tightened things up after 9-11. Good luck!


S.Chow, soon-to-be PGY-1 IM

I am a canadian born fmg doing rotations in Chicago. I have been back and forth home, nova scotia, and here for about a year now. The visa you need to get is a B1 visa. When you get to the border ie when you hand your passport to the customs official, they will stamp a B1 visa on your passport with an expiary date. The official will do this provided you have a lettter of good standing from your school and a letter proving you are doing a clinical rotation at a hospital not paying you for your services. In addition it is a good idea to have a letter declaring your financial status, ie you are filthy rich and supported for school or you are on student loans. I have had a varied experience with the customs officers. Some of them don't even look at your documents and just stamp a B1 with no expiary date or don't stamp a visa at all. Others will check the internet to ensure the hospital you are going to is affiliated with an american school and therefore a teaching hospital. The bottom line is to be prepared for anything and call the american customs office a couple of weeks prior to leaving for the states. Find out exactly what you need an get it from your school at that time. That is the best way to avoid all the problems with the inconsistent policies you are going to face for two years on and off. Good luck.

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